Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally,it is often called Puro Yakyū (プロ野球),meaning Professional Baseball. Outside of Japan,it is often referred to as "Japanese baseball".
Sadaharu Oh,also known as Wang Chen-chih,is a Japanese-born former baseball player and manager who is currently the chairman of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball. Oh holds the world lifetime home run record,having hit 868 home runs during his professional career. He established many NPB batting records,including runs batted in (RBI) (2,170),slugging percentage (.634),bases on balls (2,390),and on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) (1.080). In 1977,Oh became the first recipient of the People's Honour Award. He was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994.
The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka,Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. Founded on February 22,1938 as the Nankai Club,being the first Kansai team to play in Osaka proper,the team went through a few name changes before settling on Nankai Hawks in 1947,eventually changing ownership in 1988 and moving to Fukuoka in 1989. The team subsequently became known as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks until 2005,when they were purchased by SoftBank Group,becoming the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. Since 1993,the Hawks have played at the Fukuoka PayPay Dome,which has gone under several name changes and seats 40,000 people.
Alexander Alberto Cabrera is a Venezuelan first baseman and right-handed batter who played in 2000 for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball and for 12 seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball. He also played several seasons in the LVBP in his native Venezuela.
Alexander Ramón Ramírez Quiñónez is a Venezuelan-born Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who had a long career in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He is the first foreign-born player to record 2,000 hits while playing in NPB. Before playing in Japan,he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians (1998–2000) and Pittsburgh Pirates (2000). He batted and threw right-handed.
The Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes were a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) team based in Osaka,Japan,which was in the Pacific League. In 2005 the team was merged with the Orix BlueWave to become the team now known as the Orix Buffaloes. The team played in Fujiidera Stadium,and later in Osaka Dome.
The Orix Buffaloes are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe,Hyōgo Prefecture,Japan,and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka,Osaka Prefecture,Japan. The team plays in the Pacific League and is under ownership by Orix,a leading diversified financial services company founded in Osaka.
Wily Modesto Peña Gutierrez is a Dominican former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds,Boston Red Sox,Washington Nationals,Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners,and in NPB for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Orix Buffaloes. At 6 feet,3 inches in height and nearly 300 pounds,the right-handed batting and throwing Peña is considered a pure power hitter best known for his long-distance home runs and high strikeout rate.
So Taguchi is a Japanese former outfielder. After ten seasons with the Orix BlueWave of Nippon Professional Baseball,he played eight years in Major League Baseball with the St. Louis Cardinals,Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs,followed by a final two years in Japan with the Orix Buffaloes.
Norihiro Nakamura is a Japanese former professional baseball third baseman. Nakamura spent almost all of his professional career in Japan with the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes. Nakamura had a .266 career batting average,404 home runs and 1338 RBI,and was an eight-time All-Star and four-time Golden Glove winner. Nakamura is one of only 16 players to have hit 400 or more home runs in NPB.
Gregory Mark LaRocca is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) second baseman who played for the San Diego Padres and Cleveland Indians between 2000 and 2003. He also played in the Nippon Professional Baseball league from 2004 to 2010.
Julio Ernesto Zuleta Tapia is a former professional baseball player. He played parts of two seasons in Major League Baseball,from 2000 to 2001,for the Chicago Cubs,and six seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball from 2003 to 2008,primarily as a first baseman.
Wladimir Ramon Balentien,nicknamed "Coco",is a Curaçaoan-Dutch professional baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds,and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
Professional baseball in Japan first started in the 1920s,but it was not until the Greater Japan Tokyo Baseball Club was established in 1934 that the modern professional game had continued success.
Daryl Dean Spencer was an American professional baseball player and infielder who played shortstop,second base and third base in Major League Baseball between 1952 and 1963 for the New York / San Francisco Giants,St. Louis Cardinals,Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds. He played for the Hankyu Braves of Nippon Professional Baseball between 1964 and 1972. On April 15,1958,he hit the first home run in San Francisco Giants' history in an 8–0 victory over the Dodgers. He threw and batted right-handed and was listed as 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and 185 pounds (84 kg).
Nigel Edward Wilson is a Canadian former Major League Baseball player from Oshawa,Ontario. He played for the Florida Marlins,Cincinnati Reds,and Cleveland Indians. He also spent six highly successful seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball with the Nippon Ham Fighters and Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes. He now owns a sports training facility in Ajax,Ontario.
Ralph Wendell Bryant is a retired Major League Baseball player. He played with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the major leagues,and with the Chunichi Dragons and Kintetsu Buffaloes in Nippon Professional Baseball. He batted left-handed,threw right-handed,and played outfield for most of his career.
JoséDaniel Ortiz Santos is a former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics and Colorado Rockies and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Orix Buffaloes,Chiba Lotte Marines,Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks,and Saitama Seibu Lions.
American expatriate baseball players in Japan have been a feature of the Japanese professional leagues since 1934. American expatriate players began to steadily find spots on Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) rosters in the 1960s. More than 600 Americans have played NPB,although very few last more than a single season in Japan.
The 2001 Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes season was the 51st season of the franchise in Nippon Professional Baseball,the team's 4th season at Osaka Dome,and the team's 51st season under Kintetsu Railway. This was also the team's second season under manager Masataka Nashida. For another year,the Buffaloes were led offensively by star tandem Norihiro Nakamura and Tuffy Rhodes. For the first time since 1989,the Buffaloes won the Pacific League pennant,and in stunning fashion,with Hirotoshi Kitagawa hitting a grand slam walk-off home run against the Orix BlueWave to secure the pennant. Had they lost,they still had to win a series against the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks to win the pennant. They however,would lose to the Yakult Swallows in the Japan Series in 5 games. This season would also be Kintetsu's last Pacific League pennant win.
